The data behind the news

How did an African administrative chief use Twitter to help solve problems and maintain order in his Kenyan village?

An AP story by Tom Odula describes how @Chiefkariuki used Twitter to foil a predawn robbery. This, Mashable concluded, was another example of how social media has evolved beyond wired metropolises to reach even the most previously unconnected corners of the globe.

The robbery was foiled in part due to the availability of twitter via SMS, (though mostly due to the willingness of individuals to confront the thieves who had broken into a neighbour’s house).

This story provides a great opportunity to test different ways to answer the question who are the people who follow @Chiefkariuki?

A wordle of their bio gives us a sense of what they say about themselves:

Viewing their location on a map provides us with another perspective click on the dots to see who the followers are:

We may assume that those on the West Cost of the United States were not all mobilized to foil the predawn raid.

Those living in Kenya do tend to follow others in Kenya (this can be seen in a larger version of the image with labels can be viewed here).

Then again, the number of people following @Chiefkariuki has doubled since the original story ran, which may account for some of the followers who do not follow anyone else in Kenya.

What does this tell us?

A single number, trend line or graphic can only give us one perspective on a story – a rich view of the data behind the news comes from a combination of perspectives.

The data behind the news

How did an African administrative chief use Twitter to help solve problems and maintain order in his Kenyan village?

An AP story by Tom Odula describes how @Chiefkariuki used Twitter to foil a predawn robbery. This, Mashable concluded, was another example of how social media has evolved beyond wired metropolises to reach even the most previously unconnected corners of the globe.

The robbery was foiled in part due to the availability of twitter via SMS, (though mostly due to the willingness of individuals to confront the thieves who had broken into a neighbour’s house).

This story provides a great opportunity to test different ways to answer the question who are the people who follow @Chiefkariuki?

A wordle of their bio gives us a sense of what they say about themselves:

Viewing their location on a map provides us with another perspective click on the dots to see who the followers are:

We may assume that those on the West Cost of the United States were not all mobilized to foil the predawn raid.